Ichigo leapt towards and Grimmjow jumped back, phasing into his wolf form even as he moved. In the blink of an eye, the two males were engaged in combat, growling and biting each other, while Rukia clung to a tree trunk, watching in horror as the situation dissolved into a primitive battle.

It was a terrifying sight, yet some ancient part of her thrilled at the idea of the powerful males fighting over her. Her heart was pounding, blood rushed through her body, raising her temperature and stimulating her desire. Shaking her head, she tried to suppress the erotic feelings inside of her and clear her thinking. She wasn't some animal waiting to mate the strongest male! This was barbaric and she had to stop it.

Frantically, she looked around for something that could be used to separate the two, but of course there was nothing to be found. Returning her gaze to the scene in front of her, she stood transfixed. Snarls filled the air as teeth flashed and claws slashed. The two were equally matched, with first one and then the other seeming to be ahead.

Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo's back leg, but Ichigo whipped around and grabbed his bestfriend's neck. Rolling over Grimmjow freed himself and regained his footing, then charged his opponent again. Ichigo yipped in pain as teeth slashed his side, but he pulled away and swiped his claws across Grimmjow's face, narrowly missing the other's eye. Blood was freely streaming from their wounds and their fur was matted with dirt and saliva. Drawing back, they circled each other panting heavily, each looking for an opening that would allow them to get past the other's guard.

"Stop it!" Rukia knew she had to get through to them. The thoughts coming at her from Ichigo were frighteningly violent and primitive. She wondered if his wolf had taken over completely, if he'd lost touch with his human side. Did either of them even understand what she was saying?

"Listen! You both have to listen to me! Please! There's no need for this." She projected her thoughts towards Ichigo, but had no idea if he was sensing her.

There was no break in his movement as he slowly circled Grimmjow, his gaze locked on those of his opponent. His step never faltered, his ear didn't even twitch in her direction. Knowing it was useless, Rukia still felt compelled to try again, since there was little else she could do. "Ichigo! Grimmjow isn't trying to take me away from you and he isn't the bad guy in all of this! I know what's going on. It's all Riru—

Mid-sentence, she stopped speaking. So intent was she on the fight in front of her that Rukia hadn't noticed anyone approaching, until a cold blade pressed against her throat.

"Hello, Rukia." Riruka whispered into her ear. A wave of icy fear washed over her and Ichigo suddenly froze, his head swinging her way.

Grimmjow, obviously not knowing what was going on, lunged at Ichigo who neatly sidestepped, allowing Grimmjow to overshoot his mark and fall heavily to the ground. Grimmjow leapt up and twirled around, only to stop dead in his tracks as he finally noticed the new arrival.

"My, my! Look at you two. All bloody and dirty. Tsk, tsk. Is that any way for loving friends to behave, fighting over a little bitch?" Riruka mocked the pair of black wolves that faced her.

Ichigo's eyes reflected his confusion, disbelief, and then rapid assimilation of the situation as it dawned on him that Riruka had a knife to Rukia's neck, and was the source of his mate's fear. He took a step towards her, growling, only to stop when Riruka spoke.

"I wouldn't come any closer Ichigo, sweetheart. I might get nervous and flinch. This knife is extremely sharp and just the slightest pressure could break the skin."

Ichigo phased back into human form, while Grimmjow's wolf snarled. Riruka laughed. "Temper, temper, Grimmjow. Remember all of the trouble it's caused you already?"

"What are you up to, Riruka?" Ichigo's voice was cold, his face stony.

"Just trying to convince you to sell the land, so I can get my hands on the money it will generate."

"Sell the land?" Ichigo's voice was incredulous. "Is that what this is all about?"

"Well, it's certainly not about getting you back, not that it wouldn't be a nice side benefit, but really, good looking men are a dime a dozen once you have money."

As she spoke, Ichigo was slowly stepping to the left and Riruka turned to keep him in sight, seeming not to realise that Grimmjow was inching his way to the right. Rukia said nothing, silently watching the two instinctively work as a unit, one providing the distraction while the other circled their prey.

"So how is hurting Rukia going to get me to sell the land?" Ichigo inquired blandly.

"You sign the papers from Northern Oil and I set her free, unharmed." Riruka explained.

"I don't have them here." Ichigo's gaze briefly darted in Grimmjow's direction. She snorted derisively.

"Of course not. I'm no fool. Rukia is staying with me until the papers are in the hands of Northern Oil's lawyers. I have friends there who will let me know when it happens. Then you'll deposit the money into my bank account. Once that's taken care of, Rukia will be free to go."

Ichigo rubbed his chin thoughtfully as if considering the situation. Rukia observed him carefully, widening her eyes as a feeling, just the inkling of an idea, began to form in her head. She focussed herself as best as she could, pushing through her own feelings of panic to find what Ichigo was trying to communicate to her. It was a bit of a jumble and she strained to make sense of it, finally grasping a repeated thread:

I love you Rukia. Be ready.

He loved her? Her heart leapt inside her chest. What a time to find out, when there was no chance of savouring the sweet words. She had to be ready, but ready for what? What was Ichigo going to do? Her gaze flew to his face hoping for a hint, but it remained impassive. She wished she could see Riruka's face to get some indication of what the woman might be thinking, but from her position with the knife against her throat, it wasn't possible.

Riruka sighed impatiently. "Hurry up, Ichigo. Just agree. You know there's no way other way out of this. Oh, and Grimmjow, baby?" Rukia felt Riruka move behind her. "Quit trying to sneak up behind me or I'll blow your brains out sooner rather than later. I have a gun and I'm ambidextrous so it won't be a problem using my other hand to shoot."

Rukia heard the distinctive click of a gun, followed by a frustrated whine from Grimmjow. Trust Riruka to have two weapons on her. Rukia saw the muscle in Ichigo's jaw flex indicating his inner turmoil, but his voice revealed nothing.

"Well… " Ichigo drawled the word out.

"The problem is, Riruka, that I have to consider the needs of the whole pack, rather than just what I might want."

"Don't give me all of that 'for the good of the pack' crap. This is what you need to deal with right here and now." Riruka voice had gone from mocking to hard and exasperated. She pressed the point of the knife into Rukia's neck causing a warm liquid slowly trickled down her neck and between her breasts.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes and they began to glow eerily. His body was shaking almost imperceptibly. Rukia sensed how hard he was trying to maintain control of his human side, when the wolf within was crying out to be released and allowed to seek revenge. "You really shouldn't have done that, Riruka." Ichigo's voice was so cold and deadly that Rukia shivered.

Riruka possibly sensed she'd gone too far. She backed up a step, trying to drag Rukia with her, but of course Rukia couldn't keep her balance on one leg without the tree to hold onto. She stumbled backwards into Riruka, who flinched, causing the knife to dig deeper into her flesh. Her cry and Riruka's shout blended together as Rukia reached up to push the knife away. Her body lurched to the left and Riruka's went to the right.

As she hit the ground, the two wolves launched themselves toward their mutual enemy. In rapid succession, two shots rang out, signalling the beginning of a terrifying symphony of screams, snarls, and whimpers of pain. Rukia pulled herself upright and saw one wolf was down, a puddle of red spilling onto the ground. The remaining wolf, though bleeding heavily, had Riruka by the leg. While badly injured, the woman wasn't giving up. She was kicking and trying to pull herself away. Her arm was stretching towards the gun that had fallen to the ground…

"Hey!" A voice shouted from some distance away. Rukia briefly swung her head towards the sound and saw Renji a few hundred yards away, running in their direction. Help was coming, but would it be in time? She turned her attention back towards the fight. Horrified, Rukia saw that Riruka's hand had reached the gun… She was wrapping her fingers around the handle… Lifting the weapon… Now, she was bending her arm towards her unsuspecting attacker…

Rukia tried to get up. She had to do something. Renji was still too far away. Frantically, she dragged herself towards the combatants using her arms. She felt her hand hit against something cold and hard. It was the knife that just moments before had been pressed to own throat! Grabbing it, she used all of her remaining energy to get to her feet and as a blinding pain shot up her leg, she threw herself forward on top of Riruka.

As the world went black, Rukia was aware of three things. The gun had discharged. A warm, sticky substance was oozing over her body and the voice of her mate, frantically calling her name.

"No! Rukia!"

Suddenly the forest was suddenly incredibly quiet.

The End ..

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Just kidding! Happy April Fools! haha!

Another cliffy, I know u guys wants to strangle me by now. So let me just.. hide under my bed. Again..

Share ur thoughts ..:)